China's Exports to US Tick up as Traders Try to Beat Tariffs

BEIJING — Growth in Chinese exports to the United States ticked up in October as traders rushed to beat another round of tariff hikes.

Exports to the U.S. market rose 13.3 percent over a year earlier to $42.7 billion, up from September's 13 percent growth, customs data showed Thursday. Imports of American goods rose 8.5 percent to $10.9 billion, decelerating from the previous month's 9 percent.

China's trade surplus with the United States narrowed to $31.8 billion from September's record $34.1 billion.

Traders are rushing to beat a U.S. tariff hike planned for January, ING economists Iris Pang said in a report. Pang said "front-loading behavior" is likely to continue because this month's planned meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Argentine is unlikely to yield positive results.

China's exports to the United States have been unexpectedly resilient since Trump started imposing punitive tariffs goods in July in a fight over Beijing's technology policy.

That includes a 10 percent charge on $200 billion of Chinese goods that is due to rise to 25 percent in January.